Slippery Under Foot {Blogtoberfest #4}

 
I’ve been going through a little crisis and I’m going to share
Just lately it seems frustration and self-doubt have been snapping at my heels every step of the way.
Now, to briefly recap - I started sewing again when my brother was in hospital (you can read about that here) and I made my first quilt(s) as a direct result of that. That was all hand-sewing and I hadn’t actually sat in front of my machine for about 10 years, when I used to make cushions out of my Brighton prints.  

I’d been totally bitten by the bug, with huge ideas but very little actual technique or practice under my belt.

Just as I got into the swing a bit Mrs Singer died and the Dashing Damiel replaced her.  

Now, Damiel  is a TerryThomas-top-down-sports-car kind of a chap, and being a cad-racer, speed control is not in his dictionary.  His foot’s flat to the floor or he’s kerb-crawling and quite literally making one stitch at a time … there is no ‘cruise control’.


That, combined with the fact that he’s all shiny metal (so, quite literally, slippery under foot) and has no measurement markings on the plate, means that controlling my fabric has been a real issue.  

Meep! 

The younger me would have just given up at this stage and parked Damiel firmly in the garage, taken up my hand sewing again and lived with the disappointment of never trying things like this:

beautiful coins quilt from Millies Quilting

inspiring paintbox from Elizabeth Hartman @ Oh, Fransson!

The older me, I've discovered, is a tad more willing to learn and try again.  

So, I set off for the reference library went to youtube and found a whole heap of really useful videos showing me how to sew the perfect straight seam.

Yes, lovely – but all these talented ladies use machines younger than 40 years old & with some kind of speed control.

Then I watched a vid about using tape on the plate to mark your border – mmmm, nice.  

I ignored that (remember - no markings on my plate to highlight) and went to delve into the bag of goodies that Damiel arrived with.

Aha!  And that is when I found this:

My Hero – fixable at 1/4” & 1/2” positions – Melt!

So now I can sew seams any 1940s dame with an eyebrow pencil would be proud of …

Look!

and my new mantra is:

Anything is possible, with a little dogged determination.

The journey may take a little longer sometimes, but the final destination is even sweeter.

 Never Give Up!

Have you got a similar story of sheer bloody-mindedness triumphing over repeated failure? 

Do tell!

.... Don't forget to pop and see who else is Blogtoberfest-ing.